This was one of Brock's fourteen statues of Queen Victoria, and the first statue of the monarch to be unveiled after her death on 22 January of that year. Bronze had been chosen as the medium both for its durability (the memorial faces the sea) and because it admits of more detail. [continued below]

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The bronze panels are emblematic of Empire, Commerce, Education, and Science and Art. Of these, the one in the front, depicting Empire, is the best preserved and most detailed. According to John Sankey, "The seated female figure represents the ideal of imperial rule. The scales of justice rest on her lap, indicating that the Queen's Dominions were ruled with fairness and equity. She is flanked by four standing male figures — on her right, Canada and Australia in working dress, the former holding an axe, the latter wearing a bush hat. On her left, representing Asia and Africa, a Parsee wearing traditional dress and peering from behind, almost obscured by the Parsee, an African." Sankey adds, "While the symbolism is clear, the whole composition is rather overcrowded" (175).

Bibliography

Sankey, John. Thomas Brock and the Critics — An Examination of Brock's Place in the New Sculpture Movement. PhD Thesis, University of Leeds, 2002.